


more than survival

by aetherae



Series: yuri/estelle week 2018 [3]
Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: During Canon, F/M, Pre-Relationship, i can never pass up the chance to wax poetic about estelle, this kind of got away from me but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 01:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16052702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aetherae/pseuds/aetherae
Summary: For everything Estelle learned in the castle, she's grateful she learned how to use a shield.





	more than survival

**Author's Note:**

> these fics keep ending up way longer than i expect them to because i can never stop myself from doing some character introspection and headcanon i guess LMFAO. MAYBE ONE OF THESE DAYS I'LL WRITE SOMETHING PURELY SHIPPY AND CALL IT A DAY, ONE DAY.... but anyways, this fic came about from me thinking that sometimes i wish gameplay and story were more integrated. estelle is literally built like a TANK, with the right skills and equipment for her she could literally take a hit all day long no problem. it would've been neat if that had been incorporated in a scene or skit or something. i'd say for timeline that this takes place somewhere between phaeroh but before alexei. enough of my rambling though, i hope you enjoy!

> **day 5 – sword/shield**

For one reason or another, Estelle’s spent a lot of her life defending.

As a child, as a princess, no one ever dared to pick on her. She can hardly remember a time where people weren’t tiptoeing around her, doing their best stay on her good side and ensure her gentle, proper raising. Looking back though, she thinks she was always on the defensive regardless. Little Lady Estellise didn’t know what she did to earn her title, so she had to prove that she deserved it. No asking for anything from the servants, no arguing with what the Council thought best for her, no causing trouble for anyone. Rarely did she assert her status, take the initiative, and now she realizes it was to her detriment.

Growing up, once she’d finally convinced the Council to let someone train her, Sir Drake Dropwart instilled in her the need for defense over and over, as equally important as offensive power if not more so. He told her that it would take time to build up muscle, to train her body for the strength to attack and actually _hurt_ something, and until then, she needed to be able to guard herself from any and all danger. They ran drills for hours where Estelle did nothing but put up her shield against Sir Dropwart's relentless assault, blow after blow after blow. She’s still never felt as sore as her left arm would those days, but the progress spoke for itself. Even now, she hardly even flinches no matter how ruthless the attack from a monster, her legs barely buckling as she drives her shield against them to create her own opening for a strike.

“It is important for you to learn how to protect yourself,” he’d told her one day after a particularly tiring session and she’d asked if it wasn’t better to disable her opponents first, “to strike your enemy down before they can harm you. But you are a princess, Lady Estellise, you’ve a duty to protect the Empire and its people. Above all else, you must _survive_ , no matter who or what comes at you. Defend yourself, _survive_ your enemies, and return alive. That is more important than anything else.”

So she’ll survive, she thought, she’ll live because she has to. But no one told her about this, no one ever said anything. How her greatest joy would be in defending, protecting someone else.

It’s how she stands stock still as a monster ruthlessly beats against her upraised shield. She doesn’t budge an inch, unmoving as a mountain, not even as she feels the bruising swell in her arm. Yuri lies wounded on the ground just behind her, and she can’t afford to move.

What should’ve been a routine battle turned into a disaster when a passing Giganto threw itself into the fray. Now, half the party’s out of commission. Rita buys time for the others as she casts spell after spell on the fiends, but there’s no one to buy time for her in the middle of her casting. Karol runs around the field, dodging left and right to heal and shove life bottles down Raven’s and Judith’s throats. Repede manages to nudge a gel into Yuri’s mouth behind her, staying by his master’s side as faithfully as she’d expect, as she’s depending on. Their effects aren’t instant though, so Estelle stands and shields and guards against the Giganto, feels the burn in her legs and the way her shield starts to dig through the fabric of her glove and into skin. Even then, she doesn’t move.

“Estelle,” Yuri heaves out, and Estelle can just picture him behind her, trying to force himself into standing and moving before he actually can. “It’s fine, I’ll be fine, just run for now! You can’t take much more of this!”

But Estelle doesn’t move. Instead, she smiles from behind her shield. It’s too risky to chance turning around to look back at him, but she can hear him clawing at the dirt beneath him, struggling to find the strength to get back up. If she moves right now before he’s ready, they both know what this monster’s attack will land on. He keeps shouting at her to move, to get away and heal herself, although it barely even registers as she concentrates on standing. She has to stay still, has to stay grounded because the alternative is unacceptable.

Yuri might’ve told Phaeroh that the world ought to have a place for Estelle, but for her, the world’s not much if Yuri’s not in it, too.

After this, she thinks, she hopes she’ll find the courage to tell him that. Right now, she hears Yuri launch himself at the Giganto with a shout, and finally, mercifully, only then does she yield. She sinks to the ground knees first, watches the world turn black as she hears her shield clatter against the earth.

One day, she wants to tell Sir Dropwart that she’s glad he taught her how to defend, but it’s not enough to survive. No matter the cost to herself, like this, she can protect the people she loves, and who needs to survive when she can let them, let _Yuri_ , live?

**Author's Note:**

> and then after you know yuri was scared to death for her but once estelle recovered he told her off for being stupid and not taking care of herself first because you know they're both the kind of people who'd rather die than see the other get hurt.


End file.
